Forza Motorsport 4

Had a quick go earlier. I like it so far. In some respects I prefer it to GT5. The menu system is great. And the load times don't seem that bad really considering I've not even installed it. The top gear challenge with the skittles was a lot of fun. Took a few tries to get that.

Got it a couple of hours ago, and having a blast so far. I've got a cheap MadCatz wheel, and with the steering set to normal, it's actually pretty good (it sucked in Forza 3). Playing with the M5 around Laguna Seca, been able to catch and hold some drifts with the TC off, and my times immediately improved by about 2s when compared to the controller. The sounds are great - much better than 3 in my opinion.

Really enjoying Forza 4. My issue with GT5 was always how difficult it was to just throw the game in and have a thrash around a track in a fast car. Yes I could have worked my way through all the driving tests etc and slowly bought up the cars, but it was such a chore. With F4 I can pick any car and any track and just have a good old race. It's just what I wanted. Something to put on at the end of the day rather than a game that requires hours of time to progress. Theres the career mode too of course. But tonight it was 'I fancy driving a Ferrari enzo around the old Nürburgring' and that's what I did.

Got it a couple of hours ago, and having a blast so far. I've got a cheap MadCatz wheel, and with the steering set to normal, it's actually pretty good (it sucked in Forza 3). Playing with the M5 around Laguna Seca, been able to catch and hold some drifts with the TC off, and my times immediately improved by about 2s when compared to the controller. The sounds are great - much better than 3 in my opinion.

Very nice update.

That´s my opinion too. I was expecting quite a lot but IMO the game really delivers. Unfortunately the missus will not approve me spending €150 for a Fanatec wheel - perhaps I have to get a MC wheel if the times improve that much.

I saw a review that suggests the races are easy to begin with but get more difficult in the second half of the career.

This is true, I am only on my 3rd season in World Tour, but the AI is noticeably more difficult. The AI cars also get upgraded to the top of the class in the performance index. You can change the difficulty if you use the event list, but not in World Tour.

I am playing with all assists off, simulation steering and manual w/out clutch on a controller. Rivals mode is a lot of fun, especially when a member in a large club. I might look to get a steering wheel at some point.

Anyone kind enough to explain what the difference is when setting steering to simulation from normal? Only thing I could discern was that it was more twitchy/sensitive. Also, I'm way to reliant on abs - need to try with manual gears now.

One warning on the MC wheel - it's feels pretty loose, and thus I'm relying on the dash in-car view for cues. Thrustmaster is coming out with a new xbox wheel at the end of the year, and it looks like it won't break the bank in terms of price so might give that a go (would still be a whole lot cheaper than the fanatec wheel and pedals combo).

If only the logitech wheels were compatible - I'm beginning to think Sony paid off Logitech a good sum of dough to not make them xbox compatible -

You can race without ABS much more easily by tuning your car's brake pressure until you can brake almost all the way without locking up the brakes. Try to reduce the pressure to the point where the brakes only just lock with full input.

I'd recommend trying this instead of using the ABS assist--you can stop the car much faster without ABS and you'll earn more credits for not using it.

You can race without ABS much more easily by tuning your car's brake pressure until you can brake almost all the way without locking up the brakes. Try to reduce the pressure to the point where the brakes only just lock with full input.

I'd recommend trying this instead of using the ABS assist--you can stop the car much faster without ABS and you'll earn more credits for not using it.

Great tip, I'm going to do it right now. I drive with no ABS, but always being careful not to lock the brakes while pressing the trigger. In FM3 was much easier.

Tried the online part during the weekend, a few private races with a mate around road atlanta. Was good fun, and worked really well. Guess a full field in a "public" race might stress the game a bit more though... In career mode the races are now quite a bit more difficult, and choosing the right car for the track is getting more and more important. My souped up ford escort cossie just isn't fast enough on the straights in B "spec" class races... corners great though

Tried the online part during the weekend, a few private races with a mate around road atlanta. Was good fun, and worked really well. Guess a full field in a "public" race might stress the game a bit more though... In career mode the races are now quite a bit more difficult, and choosing the right car for the track is getting more and more important. My souped up ford escort cossie just isn't fast enough on the straights in B "spec" class races... corners great though

That´s right. I was surprised yesterday when my Merc 190 2.5-16 (C425) was almost not fast enough to take on the 60´s american muscle cars around Sebring. Way more difficult than in FM3. Loads of fun though - I don´t need any other game for quite some time now - something my 16 yo son does not comprehend ;)

My souped up ford escort cossie just isn't fast enough on the straights in B "spec" class races... corners great though

I found that with a souped up RS500 in the A spec races. I can keep up and pass in the corners, but on the straights Vipers and Corvettes drive past me as if they are using DRS. The cool thing is though that since I got to level 4 with Ford the mods were free, so not a big deal, and the car was free as a level up prize car.

Agreed, the sounds are much better this time. I have to say I am enjoying playing this much more than I did F1 2011, my only struggle is with A class and up cars losing traction coming out of turns. I am playing with all assists off, manual gears (no clutch though) and so find myself losing grip when accelerating out of turns. I also need to figure tuning/picking cars for each class better than I have been, I struggled with a B class Escort Cosworth last night because of top speed, cornered fine, but straight line speed was lacking. I think what I should probably do though is pick cars based on their performance stats instead of how much I simply like the car regardless of its stats.

Managed to post up a couple top 1% times, and a good few inside the top 10% though, so I am happy.

For those who are using a wheel, how does it compare to using a controller? easier? harder? different learning curve but about the same?

Yep I prefer it to GT5 too. I accept they're pretty much identical games in what they offer but I much prefer FM4's user interface and how easy it is to just set up a quick race and go. FM4 just feels a lot more polished and user friendly imho.

My only question tho.. is there any way to adjust the number of laps on a quick race? I can't seem to find an option anywhere.

To those who have played both FM3 and FM4... which cars does the game allow you to take from your FM3 career garage into your FM4 career garage? I know that the career reward cars for certain levels get taken over (e.g. Bugatti Veyron, #9 Peugeot Sport Total), but I've also seen an incomplete list of other cars you can bring over, too, including the 458 Italia, 430 Scuderia, Gallardo Superleggera, and Corvette ZR1.

If you played both games, which cars did the game allow you to bring from FM3 into FM4?

I didn't play FM3 enough, but I did get some credits because I had a FM3 save game.

I plunked down for that silly little wireless gyro U wheel from MS, and in my opinion its actually not that bad when you play with it in in-car view. I have a lot more control of the steering when compared to the controller. BIG BIG minus is the lack of buttons and your arms get tired. BIG BIG plus is that my 4 year old actually likes playing forza now (with auto brakes of course)

Drove a few laps on the nurburgring (the proper nurburgring, not the GP track ) with a mate, and it worked really well. Also did a few online races, but in some of them it seemed like a few drivers with bad connections jumped all over the track and created a few crashes and anger from people getting hit (me included in one instance).

Not investigated the clubs and rival features, but clubs could be interesting... maybe even an atlasf1 club, to keep track of the BB members progress and track records

Been driving online with a few mates a couple of times, and it is great fun when you really know the persons "driving" the other cars, especially if you beat them We tried out the car club feature, and it works pretty neat, with the possibility to share youre cars with mates, and you get to see how laptimes compare on the different tracks with the different classes of cars... As far as fun factor goes, Forza 4 is really good... the AI can be a bit frustrating, but the pick-up-and-play gamestyle really works for me after a hard days work

To make up for the lack of an F1 car in this game I pick the Ferrari on the far right of the car list, I think it's a le mans type car.. and run quick races around the old nurburgring. A lot of fun. It's a bit like riding a roller coaster at times. The only annoyance is sometimes it's near impossible not to slam into the back of other cars. Very little room to pass in places. But it's a rush to nail it down the straights and keep the speed up in some of the corners that allow for it.

But it's a rush to nail it down the straights and keep the speed up in some of the corners that allow for it.

Agreed, when you get just the right line to carry extra speed through the corner its a great feeling. I finally hit level 50 over the weekend, I am somewhat disappointed now that I will no longer be getting the level up cars. To be honest though, most of the later ones (LMP cars) are ones I will rarely use. The R1/R2 cars are a handful with all assists off and manual shifting.

The one thing that continually annoys me with the game though, is the ! symbol for a dirty lap. Especially when I put in a clean lap, only for one of the AI cars to be close enough behind me for the game to decide they are drafting me, and so give me a dirty lap. Really infuriating, especially when the AI adapts to your driving level, which makes it hard to pull out a long enough gap. I think it must be something like 2 seconds or less and the game registers it as drafting. Sucks when on a straight and the AI cars are a small dot in the distance, I am sure some of my leaderboard times would be better if it were not for that.

I finally hit level 50 over the weekend, I am somewhat disappointed now that I will no longer be getting the level up cars. To be honest though, most of the later ones (LMP cars) are ones I will rarely use. The R1/R2 cars are a handful with all assists off and manual shifting.

Not getting any more cars is a bit of a downer, but the cash prize enables you to buy the cars you want... As for the higher classes of cars, i pretty much agree... usually go for A or S class cars if possible, as driving with the controller and no aids gets a bit too intense in "close combat" with the r-class cars

The one thing that continually annoys me with the game though, is the ! symbol for a dirty lap. Especially when I put in a clean lap, only for one of the AI cars to be close enough behind me for the game to decide they are drafting me, and so give me a dirty lap. Really infuriating, especially when the AI adapts to your driving level, which makes it hard to pull out a long enough gap. I think it must be something like 2 seconds or less and the game registers it as drafting. Sucks when on a straight and the AI cars are a small dot in the distance, I am sure some of my leaderboard times would be better if it were not for that.

Don't have Forza 4 yet, but this annoyed me to no end in Forza 3. Just irritating, especially if they've made it worse in Forza 4--how the heck does having a car slipstream you affect your laptime, anyway?

Not getting any more cars is a bit of a downer, but the cash prize enables you to buy the cars you want... As for the higher classes of cars, i pretty much agree... usually go for A or S class cars if possible, as driving with the controller and no aids gets a bit too intense in "close combat" with the r-class cars

I typically go for C, B, A class races, I find they are more fun than the R classes.

Don't have Forza 4 yet, but this annoyed me to no end in Forza 3. Just irritating, especially if they've made it worse in Forza 4--how the heck does having a car slipstream you affect your laptime, anyway?

It is hugely annoying, typically as well I find that I get a clean lap, then am back on the start/finish straight only to see the little exclamation point flashing as a car slipstreams me down the straight.

Right, got it last week and I have to say I'm impressed--here's what I think so far.

The overall feel of the game seems more serious than Forza 3 (e.g. different style of menus, feels more concentrated on racing than cars), but it's still fun nonetheless. The physics model seems to have been improved over Forza 3, though the cars feel like they have slightly less grip now than they did before. The sounds of the cars are amazing, and I like the visual effects that occur at high speeds--try racing LMP1s set up for top speed at Indy from driver's-eye view for quite an experience.

I like the concept of the World Tour, though I was dismayed to find out that World Tour races don't count towards the event list unless the specific track you're racing on is featured in the event you select. In other words, if you choose to participate in the Four-Cylinder Challenge on Catalunya Full in the World Tour, and the Four-Cylinder Challenge has no race on Catalunya Full in the event list, you are accomplishing nothing in the event list. Kind of annoying, because the event list has something like 300 events, and if you want all the achievements, you have to complete the World Tour and the event list separately--something you didn't have to do in Forza 3 because Season Play in Forza 3 chose races from the event list. The AI are much tougher now with upgraded cars, too; a nice change from the days when you could annihilate them with a well-tuned car in a specific class, even on the toughest difficulty.

I like the new "select your gift car" feature, though I'm finding some of the choices to be a bit skewed based on the value of the cars involved. Who is seriously going to choose a Ford GT40 over a Ferrari P4 when the P4 costs four times as much? I really like a lot of the cars they let you choose from, but I find myself more often than not going for the cars that cost the most rather than the ones I want the most, just by virtue of the fact that it will cost me less money in the long run to have more cars. Still went for the Mercedes SLS over the Ferrari 599 GTO, though.

The one thing that still blows me away about this game, even after a week of playing it, is the level of quality found in the graphics engine. Purely stunning--I've never seen a racing game look so real. In-race, the quality seems to dip a bit, and they unfortunately haven't found a way to render small vinyl decals on the cars at a higher quality than they were displayed at in FM3, but in the menus and the Autovista the cars look stunning. I'm one of those types who likes to spend hours working on liveries for their favourite race cars, so the update in the graphics was a major selling point for me (and I've preferred gameplay over graphics since the early 90's).

Within five days of playing I blew all my money on two of my favourite cars from Forza 3 just so I could design liveries for them in Forza 4: the Radical SR8 and the Acura ARX-02a. I know you get the SR8 as a gift car, but I couldn't wait for it.

Radical SR8 RX

Acura ARX-02a

ARX-02a @ Top Gear Studio (so you can see the stars on the livery)

The livery for the ARX-02a was inspired by Honda's space-themed 555 livery--still one of the coolest F1 liveries ever, in my opinion. Took waaay long to make, though.

I'm also liking the rivals and car club features, as well. My friends and I have already set up a club and shared some cars with one another, though I'm the only one who's done a lap of the Top Gear track in the Reasonably-Priced Car. The camera angles for the replays on the Top Gear track are spot-on, as well--as a fan of the show, it's neat to have Clarkson's opinions present in the Autovista and other Top Gear-themed events on the game as well. Still waiting for Hammond's Opel Cadet (OLIVER!!! ) to make an appearance as DLC, though.

And lastly, an update on the profile import feature: I found out that you will get ten of the gift cars from FM3 gifted to your profile in FM4 if you reached Level 50 in FM3. These gift cars include a Bugatti Veyron and a Peugeot 908, so if you never reached Level 50 on FM3, it might be a good idea to go back and do so before importing your profile, as I don't know how many times you can do a profile import. Additionally, if you were a VIP member before, you will also receive the 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo S and the Ferrari 430 Scuderia (both unicorns) as gift cars if you had them in your FM3 garage--very useful, as this will unlock the Unicorn Hunter achievement. You will also get a Corvette ZR1 and 458 Italia if these were in your FM3 garage, as well. Too bad they aren't very competitive without upgrades, though.

In short, I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I don't know if it'll hold my attention as long as Forza 3 did, but it certainly has the potential to, and that's what matters. Hope you guys are enjoying it as much as I am, haha.

Ooo might take the ARX-02a for a spin later.. looks like a very nice (and fast) car. Pretty close to an F1 car I'm thinking?

It probably is the most similar to an F1 car out of all the LMPs, now that I think about it--moreso than the Peugeot or Audi LMP cars. In Forza 3 the ARX-02a had an insane amount of grip, but it's quite tail-happy without TC in Forza 4. It's still my favourite car in the game so far, though, haha.

Last friday I bought Xbox bundle with some Crysis 2 and Forza 3 which I pretty much ignored since I also bought Forza 4. I'm using gamepad due I won't be buying new expensive wheel so it would work with xbox too. Maybe when my almost 10 year old Logitech Driving Force Pro will die out.

My overall comment for GT5 and Forza 4 would be both design teams would bonk their head together and make Forza Turismo for Xbox, Playstation and other capable devices (I suggest to forget any PC platform - it's waste of resources IMO).

A little notes I feel in-game graphics GT5 are stronger due depth and more natural outlook. F4 shows distances very far and scenes are extremely beautifull and sharp but also unreal. Resolution is lower in F4 than GT5. Since times of Test Drive 1, I've wanted car games having proper dashboard and there F4 wins 10-3. Silly detail there though: in F4 driver won't switch gears, while in GT5 it does and very well too! - Predicts gear changes very good with downshifting and upshifting.

I like user interface, upgrades and setups-options more in F4 than GT5. Especially tyre pressure.

I cannot compare wheel controls yet, but with gamepad with F4 is easier and funnier to drive, though I don't like it's not possible to make custom layout for preferred controls - although there's plenty of variations.

Sometimess few is better than too many. I love Forza's car choises: from piece of junks to decent and superb cars and soon even Porsches. GT5...too ****ing much Skylines, MX-5's, Lancers, RX-7's and S2000's: if bundling those models together about 40% of massive 1200 car choises are those.

Sometimess few is better than too many. I love Forza's car choises: from piece of junks to decent and superb cars and soon even Porsches. GT5...too ****ing much Skylines, MX-5's, Lancers, RX-7's and S2000's: if bundling those models together about 40% of massive 1200 car choises are those.

FM4 is on its way to that... ever read the 'new car suggestion' thread on their forums? Nearly everybody seems to want 80's-90's Japanese cars or even more 60's American cars. I just don't understand the appeal of either of those kinds of cars... we need more rally racers and Le Mans cars, if anything, I think. It is a racing game, after all.

FM4 is on its way to that... ever read the 'new car suggestion' thread on their forums? Nearly everybody seems to want 80's-90's Japanese cars or even more 60's American cars. I just don't understand the appeal of either of those kinds of cars... we need more rally racers and Le Mans cars, if anything, I think. It is a racing game, after all.

The Sauber-Mercedes C9 would be awesome to drive, for example.

I say, give us both Also, a few more tracks would be awsome....

It is a racing game, but i find the forza "gameplay" model to suit the more standard cars better than the proper fast racing cars. My absolute favorite car is a slightly modded e36 M3 that i have tons of fun hassling through the turns. Sure, the le mans cars are very fast and have good grip, but i never really bonded with those car as i have with the more normal cars in the game. That said, i do love the Mazda 787 lemans car with its rather unique engine sound ;)

FM4 is on its way to that... ever read the 'new car suggestion' thread on their forums? Nearly everybody seems to want 80's-90's Japanese cars or even more 60's American cars. I just don't understand the appeal of either of those kinds of cars... we need more rally racers and Le Mans cars, if anything, I think. It is a racing game, after all.

The Sauber-Mercedes C9 would be awesome to drive, for example.

I am actully quite opposite. I wouldn't mind if all racing cars are taken away from game. Thing I like in GT5 and Forza 4 is I can drive on closed tracks against others with quite normal cars.

Anyone tried the Porsches yet? Been such lovely weather here last few days, so i haven't had much time in front of the computer/tv/xbox this week

To be honest, I was more excited about the availability of VIP membership. I traded cars in the Auction House a lot in FM3--VIP membership is basically a requirement for that, so I purchased it immediately. Plus, the Veyron Super Sport is a nice bonus--anybody else taken it up to 270 MPH on the Mulsanne yet?

Also, been practicing tuning/driving in the R1 cars a lot lately, as well--got down to a 1:13.9 in the regular ARX-02a at Sunset Peninsula the other day, but it won't show my replay on the leaderboards for some reason. I'd be interested in racing against some of you in R1s if you'd like to plan a track day.

Wow, almost four months and no new posts? Does anyone even play this game anymore?

The Sauber-Mercedes C9 would be awesome to drive, for example.

Looks like I called that one. Anyone else like driving this monster? Amazing levels of power with surprisingly good handling--fully-upgraded, it has a '10' on every stat except launch. Talk about fast.

... i never really bonded with [race cars] as i have with the more normal cars in the game.

That said, i do love the Mazda 787 lemans car with its rather unique engine sound ;)

Speaking of bonding with cars on the game (which I guess sounds a little creepy, but cyber-car or real car it's still a car ) : I love my ARX-02a so much. Even though I still haven't gotten to drive exactly how I want it to after all this time, I have more fun racing it than any other car on the game--every once in a while I'll get in 'the zone' while driving it, and it's just a total blast. Plus, I think it looks and sounds amazing (yes, I like its engine note better than the 787B's ;)).

F40 is one of my def favorites. The turbo-lag is quite horrendous and if it kicks mid-corner...but having connected the Xbox to 5.1 sound system the V8 sounds sooo good and the car is a hoot to drive!!

Hey guys, the Porsche Expansion Pack is apparently half off until the end of the week. If you don't have it yet, now's the time to pick it up. I got it this morning and I've already bought more than half of the cars.

F40 is one of my def favorites. The turbo-lag is quite horrendous and if it kicks mid-corner...but having connected the Xbox to 5.1 sound system the V8 sounds sooo good and the car is a hoot to drive!!

I always play on a stereo system, and believe me, with the right equaliser settings and bass enhancement activated, you can get some amazing sounds from this game. For pure 'roar factor', I'd recommend the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the Shelby Daytona--two of my favourites for their ability to induce earthquakes at will with their engine notes

I always play on a stereo system, and believe me, with the right equaliser settings and bass enhancement activated, you can get some amazing sounds from this game. For pure 'roar factor', I'd recommend the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the Shelby Daytona--two of my favourites for their ability to induce earthquakes at will with their engine notes

I play it on a 5.2 surround system (my home cinema setup) with the .2 being 2 x 10" sub woofers. The reason for 2 subwoofers are that they are integrated in the front speakers (audioPro blue diamond v3). There are some great sounds in this game, and probably the best sound on any xbox game i have played. Not owning a PS3 myself, i have only heard it on other setups, but from what i have heard GT5 is not even close when it comes to engine roar...

A bit off topic; Battlefield 3 has pretty good sound too, with both the gunfire and explotions really sounding like you are in a middle of a war when you up the volume a bit. My pc is just hooked up to a 2.1 setup though (not a computer set, but an surround reciever and some decent speakers (Dali zensor 1), and a cheap klipch 10" sub) instead of the home cinema system. still pumps out some very nice sounds...

Currently signed up with this community, thye have great races and HLCs AND its sponsored by T10. I received a unicorn car (M3 GTR) for participating in one of the hot lap competitions. Fun stuffhttp://www.mvgracing.co.uk/index.php